Photo Essay: Children of Songkran

Kids are especially ecstatic during the Thai New Year as they are allowed to stay out all day and splash everyone (bonus points for farangs/foreigners) with guns and buckets without being scolded.

Here’s a mini-photo essay featuring the Children of Songkran (yes, I know it sounds like the Children of the Corn). My little tribute to those beautiful innocent faces.

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Riding behind trucks armed with waterguns or taking position on the sidewalks with buckets, the children are particularly happy during Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

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This little kid kept following me for a few minutes, curious about my camera. When I tried to take a portrait of him, he just got closer and closer to the lens, watching his reflection.

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I caught this little kid desperately trying to fill his pump with water from puddles on the sidewalk. Needless to say, he did not succeed.

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This little chubby kid was particularly aggressive in his behavior, trying to splash everyone with his tiny bucket, even throwing it when no water was left inside.

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These cute little girls were splashing everyone passing on motorbikes or behind trucks. The left one just got sprayed in the face with icy water.

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Sitting in a motorbike sidecar won’t prevent children from getting hit by a watergun in the face. Notice how his lips are blueish, it was really cold that day and icy water doesn’t help staying warm.

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The first day of Songkran was cold and rainy. This kid jumped into a big bucket full of water from the moat to stay warm and hide from the wind.

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This kid was just shivering in the back of a truck, ignoring the chaos around him. I thought he must’ve been feeling carsick or freezing cold.

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This is the first child that got me outside my apartment. He actually was considerate enough to wait for a few seconds so I could take the picture and hide my camera behind my back before spraying my face.

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This is one of the cutest little girls I saw. She was so excited to be able to shoot a farang (foreigner) but felt so confused and shy when I kneeled in front of her to take a photo.

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This is the last photo I took of Songkran. This little child was on the other side of the moat, much more quiet than the chaos seen in the background. He looked cute trying to spray the passers-by on the other side with his little gun.

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If you want to enjoy more photos from Songkran, please visit the Songkran Photo Essay I posted on MatadorNetwork.

[…] Nobody was spared.Buckets of icy water from behind pickup trucks. Water gun fights between young Thai children and farangs. Everybody celebrated Songkran, the Thai New Year.The throwing of water originated as a […]